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  1. “Coronavirus: Why more rats are being spotted during quarantine.” his is an important article in today’s BBC online. Rats are moving onto the streets in some cities of the Unites States as they seek for new food sources. The closure of bars and restaurants has deprived them of their “traditional” food sources. And so they are trying to invade private homes, kitchens, residential buildings. According to physicians quoted in the BBC report,, rats are associated with more than fifty known pathogens–although the novel coronavirus is not known to be one of them.

    It was of course rats that spread the bubonic and pneumonic plague in the Middle Ages, and through the seventeenth century, and even into the nineteenth century in some countries. Our misguided efforts to stop the spread of a pathogen that seems to be killing a relatively small number of people could spark a genuine pandemic of mass deaths not seen since the Middle Ages.

  2. @ Shmuel Mohalever:
    The way I understood his description of COVID-19 symptoms was that he described something unique.
    I’ve never heard of patients turning blue in the face from the lack of oxygen because of a simple cold or even pneumonia.
    But I didn’t make a study of it, obviously.

  3. It is true that I was speculating about what mightbe the actual nature and severity of the coronavirus disease. But because the responsible medical-governmental authorities have failed to do the necessary research to find out what is really going on, all we are left with is speculation. This is an international disgrace and outrage.

    The medical-governmental authorities have failed to conduct the necessary tests and research needed to to find out what the actual danger level created by the new Wuhan virus strain is, whether the current wave of infectious illnesses is caused by it, whether the over-all death rate from infectious disease has increased significantly, and whether other pathogens besides SARS-Covid19-2 could be contributing to it. These tests and research into already existing data sources could enable physicians learn the truth behind the current wave of infectious illness. But the medical authroities worldwide have stubbornly refused to conduct the necessary tests, although they have the means to do so. Or if they have conducted these tests, or compared the statistics collected with regard to COVID-19 with data collected about other, similar illnesses, they have refused to make the results public.

    My speculations are not based on my imagination, however. Rather they are based on the observations of competent physicians who are on the front lines treating patients suffering from the current wave of infectious illness, as reported in the press and standard reference sources. They are just as uncertain about what they are dealing with as I am.

  4. @ Reader: The video is indeed very scary. It is obvious that this doctor is highly qualified, experienced, sincere, and has the best interests of his patients at heart. But it is still too early to draw definitive conclusions from his report. The fact that he only advocates an adjustment in the pressure used to force oxegyn into people’s lungs, not the abandonment of this procedure, suggests to me that what we may be dealing with is a form of an existing illness, not a completely new one.

  5. Israel is a country whose population equals that of New York and whose economy needs to be rescued from the damage done by the quarantine, and whose people need ongoing medical care.
    I suspect the city of New York can handle it on its own without undermining Israel’s limited and strained resources.

  6. @ Shmuel Mohalever:
    If the video of the New York doctor who says that COVID-19 is characterized by oxygen deprivation (as if on the top of a very tall mountain) and not by a patient’s inability to breathe in and out is not a fake, then this virus is not a simple cold virus. There are also other symptoms such as stomach cramps, burning sensation in the lungs, etc.
    However, it looks like it is not the plague it was announced to be in the middle of March.

  7. Coronavirus: Now is the time to send Israeli medical teams to New York
    Israel’s medical forces are primed and ready, possess the expertise and are currently available to treat a much larger scope of ill patients than is likely at the immediate time.

    srael has been working wisely thus far in combating the coronavirus crisis, and has used all possible tools to reduce the spread of the virus, including closing borders, placing people arriving from abroad in isolation, social distancing and extensive testing, as well as preparing the health system for very serious scenarios.

    The government has acted correctly and quickly, using an approach that slowed the rate of infection and contained the epidemic in hospitals, achieving reasonable medical results. We are not yet near the conclusion of this crisis, but rather, at its peak. However, alongside our strategy to put the pandemic behind us and help the economy recover, Israel now has an additional challenge: to assist other countries where the crisis is crashing health systems – and first and foremost New York City, Israel’s closest friend and ally.

    Continue reading article written by the director general of Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov) and formerly the director general of the Israeli Health Ministry and the chairman of the Health Basket Committee. https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Coronavirus-Now-is-the-time-to-send-Israeli-medical-teams-to-New-York-623969

  8. I will accept the Mayo Clinic Medical Expertise. I prefer this to the theoretical writings of a past English Teacher.

    I hope the great lengths many countries have gone through like Israel to mitigate Covid-19 will result in less diseased and dead people.

    Anyway some people have their theories like the Jews caused this or it is a hoax and so it will be no matter the view of the professionals and proven science.

  9. Let us at least consider the possibility that coronavirus is simply another common cold virus, like four other coronaviruses. How many people had colds this infectious disease season? 50 million would probably be a conservative estimate. If so, how many would have been triggered by a coronavirus? How many Americans have had cold viruses in their systems, including those that didn’t actually develop colds? Probably nearly everyone-let us say, 300 million. Of course no one knows for sure, because edipemiologists have never tested everyone for the cold viruses in their system. As far as I have been able to find out, not even a representative sample of the whole population. Doctors have never thought it was necessary to do this. After all, a cold is just a cold!

    But doctors have identified 25 different viruses that cause colds, including four coronaviruses. If my hypothesis is correct that the novel coronavirus is just another strain of cold, then there are 26 active strains. If SARS CoV19 is transmitted rapidly from person to person, and most people carry around in their system as many as 50 pathogens at any one time, then millions of people, maybe 25 million, might have the coronavirus in their system, or recently had it before acquiring immunity. Could then 10,000 people die who test positive for the novel coronavirus, and 250,000 test positive ffor it who get sick but don’t die, and 24-25 million have the virus in their systems because they didn’t get sick at all because they weren’t sick at all this flu season, or only got a cold and never bothered to see a doctor about it? All these aare realistic possibilities. If something along those lines is the case, then the death rate of people infected with SARS- CoV19-2 could be less than one in a thousand infected.

  10. Is COVID-19 more contagious that other coronaviruses?

    Dr. Cowl says that SARS-CoV-2 is likely more contagious than the viruses that cause influenza and common cold because it is new to humans. Humans have no way to prepare for it, and their immune systems are not ready to fight it. This results in the virus causing more cellular damage and producing more inflammatory cells. For people with decreased immunity, due to medications, a specific condition, or from aging, the resulting COVID-19 disease is more serious.

    https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/how-the-virus-that-causes-covid-19-differs-from-other-coronaviruses/

  11. The Mayo Clinic Article:

    How the virus that causes COVID-19 differs from other coronaviruses
    Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that can cause illnesses such as the common cold, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). So what makes those coronaviruses different from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19? Dr. Clayton Cowl, a pulmonologist and chair of Mayo Clinic’s Division of Preventive, Occupational and Aerospace Medicine, says that SARS-CoV-2 shares both similarities and differences with other coronaviruses.

    “The name ‘coronavirus’ has to do with what the virus looks like under a microscope,” says Dr. Cowl. “‘Corona’ means crown. All coronaviruses have a similar structure. They are also ‘enveloped’ viruses, which means they are able to stick to surfaces, but are also able to be killed with disinfectants. The novel virus that causes COVID-19 is one-nine hundredth of a width of a piece of hair.”

    Read further plus see video explain this virus and unique disease on link at bottom.

    https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/how-the-virus-that-causes-covid-19-differs-from-other-coronaviruses/

  12. If you read the article linked by Bear carefully, it does not prove that COVID19 is more deadly than the flu, or even that it even exists as a distinct illness, separate from previously known ones. “It’s still unclear exactly how deadly novel coronavirus is. The death rate may be overestimated because testing hasn’t been ramped up and there could be hundreds of thousands or even millions not counted globally because they never get sick or show symptoms. The death rate, at least so far, similarly could’ve been affected by variables that have nothing to do with the virus itself, including overwhelmed hospitals, which contributed to Italy’s estimated mortality rate of about 7%.

  13. In just part of day the Coronavirus has grown to:

    World 1,418,925 +72,921 cases,

    Deaths 81,507, increased deaths +6,853

    Yet there are people trying to selling us that it is a HOAX. Perhaps they are just testing if they can fool us with the big lie to see how gullible we are?

  16. If you look at the worldlifeexpectany .com site, you will discover that the number of influenza and pneumonia cases worldwide vastly exceed Bear’s numbers.

  17. A pandemic is a global outbreak of disease. Pandemics happen when a new virus emerges to infect people and can spread between people sustainably. Because there is little to no pre-existing immunity against the new virus, it spreads worldwide.

    The virus that causes COVID-19 is infecting people and spreading easily from person-to-person. Cases have been detected in most countries worldwide and community spread is being detected in a growing number of countries. On March 11, the COVID-19 outbreak was characterized as a pandemic by the WHO.

    To date: World – Coronavirus Cases 1,341,217, Deaths 74,511

    https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

  18. https://www.quora.com/How-many-people-die-in-New-York-every-day
    “In 2015 there were 153,623 [in that year] That comes to 420.88 a day with heart disease and cancer as leading causes.”

    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/05/nyregion/coronavirus-new-york-update.html#link-5c4146f9
    “The number of deaths [from coronavirus] in the state has reached 4,159, Mr. Cuomo said.” [04-05-20]
    And the extra 4,159 deaths in New York STATE broke their back.
    How come they didn’t have to dig ditches in the parks and by the roads to bury the dead in 2015?

  20. @ Michael S: This is what Aristotle called an ad hominem argument–criticizing the person who makes certain arguments or claims, rather than disputing the validity of his arguments or the accuracy of his claims. The fallacy is that the person making the arguments may have personal problems (don’t we all?) but that doesn’t mean he is wrong about the facts.

    Yes, I have cabin fever. But that doesn’t mean I’m wrong about the ” Pandemic”being a hoax.

    I don’t need or want anyone’s pity.

    I find your tone patronizing. I am a rational person whose intelligence is within the normal range–not a pathetic nut case, as you seem to think.

  25. @ Michael S:
    Hi, Michael. I’m glad for you. Sounds nice. I hope your daughter stays safe. What’s “P.R.” I just know Puerto Rico and Public Relations. I’m sure you don’t mean “pre-revolutionary.” I guess that would be Taiwan?

  27. I wonder what the deniers of reality or Covid-19 will say about that:

    New York City’s Council’s health committee reveals they are looking at using parks for burials as a “temporary interment.”

    Trenches will be dug for 10 caskets in a line.

    This is due to hospital morgues, funeral homes, and cemeteries overwhelmed due to COVID-19 victims

  28. @ Shmuel Mohalever:
    Hi, Shmuel. You said,

    “The BBC reported last week that, “At present in the U.S., any death of a COVID-19 patient, no matter what the physician believes to be the direct cause, is counted for public reporting as a COVID-19 death.” Does that sound like a scientifically sound way of determining how deadly COVID-19 really is?””

    Most deaths have contributing causes, especially among older patients. If a person is being treated for COVID-19 and dies (usually very suddenly), it is reasonable to assume that the COVID-19 “pushed him over the edge.”

    My wife has been following the Facebook chatter among ICU nurses. Two of them said of COVID-19 patients, that they often look OK and are joking, then are found dead at check-up, half an hour later.

  29. @ Sebastien Zorn:
    Hi, Sebastien. Schmuel/ Adam is getting cabin fever. He essentially said as much. I pity those whose only companion for weeks on end is blogs and MSM TV. My wife and I get to see deer and turkeys on the grounds, and Crows and other birds busily gathering materials to make their nests.

    Concerning the President, we continue to pray for him and all around him, as well as the leaders of the country my daughter is in (PR China). The Demstream media are certainly trying to “paralyze” President Trump; but he’s a survivor of such schemes. I cannot predict what God will do concerning this and other plagues this year; but if the quaranties eventually end, as they likely will, The President will have credentials of having captained us through rough seas; and the more horrible the MSM make our troubles look, the more glorious Captain Triumph looks.

    I’m not too troubled about the economy: The whole world will likely be in recession for some time, including PR China. Pres. Trump is already being blamed for the weather, hot or cold, and called “The Great Satan”. Of course he will be blamed for the world’s woes, and already is. That stuff is already very old, and even the Lefties are wise to it.

  30. “On March 24th, the CDC issued an alert stating that doctors should classify “probable COVID-19” or “likely COVID-19” as Covid-19 deaths. Perhaps that explains the seeming drop-off of pneumonia deaths this year and the simultaneous spike in COVID-19 deaths as some researchers have reported.

    The BBC reported last week that, “At present in the U.S., any death of a COVID-19 patient, no matter what the physician believes to be the direct cause, is counted for public reporting as a COVID-19 death.”

    Does that sound like a scientifically sound way of determining how deadly COVID-19 really is?” Senator (and doctor) Ron Paul, writing on the Money and Markets site.

  31. Nearly 3,000 new NYC coronavirus cases overnight, total approaches 68,000 – NY Post. What planet is the author of the 2nd article on, hmmm?

  32. What’s a Karen? He says, in “President Trump Paralyzed.” ” I already see enough of the social media comments to know there are enough paranoid Karens among others who will pillory him with a much higher level of freakish, psychotic intensity”.

    I googled: Karen meaning, and got: noun
    1.
    a member of an indigenous people of eastern Burma (Myanmar) and western Thailand.
    2.
    the language of the Karen, probably Sino-Tibetan.
    adjective
    relating to the Karen or their language.

    And Karen is a mocking slang term for an entitled, obnoxious, middle-aged white woman. Especially as featured in memes, Karen is generally stereotyped as having a blonde bob haircut, asking to speak to retail and restaurant managers to voice complaints or make demands, and being a nagging, often divorced mother from Generation X.

    I somehow think he means something else. But, what?

  33. readers should google: interview, rudolph guliani and orthdox jewish doctor vladimir zalenko. very worthwhile!

  34. I have studied the figures from many disease reporting web sites, and have concluded that in most countries, the rate of serious cases of what has been described the COVID-19 disease is consistent with the rate of of serious cases of pneumonia and influenza in a “normal” seasonal flu and influenza season. This has led me to conclude that “COVID-19 disease'” is really just pneumonia or influenza, plagues that have been with humanity for a long time, and have yet to be eradicated.

    There are a few countries that are having an unusually bad seasonal epidemic, most notably Italy and Spain. But Italy, at any rate, had some serious preexisting health problems that may have caused this years seasonal epidemic to explode–most notably, the presence of unusually high concentrations drug-resistent strains of bacterial pneumonia in many Italian hospitals. This problem goes back some years before the discovery of the novel coronavirus.

  35. “[Haddassah Medical Center director]Rotstein . . .explained about two testing experiments he conducted, one in which he tested 1,200 people who work in a government company, which like all others has been scaled back to 15% of its workers. The test showed that only one person tested positive for the virus and the rest were healthy. That one person was sent into isolation.
    “This company should not be working at 15% but at 150%,” he said. “Why stop them? We need to produce national products. Without them, we will not be able to support the medical system. If we continue another month, there will be no money to reactivate the country’s economy.”
    In a second experiment, Rotstein tested nearly 2,000 medical staff that work at Hadassah Hospital. He found that 30 people tested positive but were asymptomatic or had limited symptoms. These are people who are on the frontlines. He immediately put those who tested positive into isolation.
    By testing his staff, Rotstein said he can ensure that he keeps sick people home and healthy people at work.” From the same article in today’s Jerusalem Post. Professor Rotstein’s proposal should by implemented here as well as in Israel.

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    Top hospital head to ‘Post’: Coronavirus strategy failed
    ‘Health Ministry needs to rethink policy of isolation’
    By MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN APRIL 6, 2020 12:27
    The Health Ministry’s strategy for tackling the coronavirus crisis is a failure, the head of one of Israel’s leading hospitals told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday as the ministry announced it had fallen far below its original test target, leaving the country without an end in sight for its isolation strategy.
    “We are in the third week of isolation and the numbers continue to rise – and in big numbers,” the senior official said. “We need to think about another strategy. Isolation has not brought us any good.” From today’s Jerusalem Post.Maybe this applies to America, too.